The Birth of the Kwamis
by Stormgate
Summary: Kwamis have always existed, since before the dawn of time. Humans, however, didn't. This is a story about how it all came to be.
1. The Beginning

They never could say how they began. The first ones, anyway. After all, what man remembers the day of their birth, or knows anything about that day beyond what was told them? They did not have the luxury of someone to tell them about those events, for they were the first to exist.

Their first names were Organize and Destroy. They had no shapes, for shapes did not yet exist. They had power, they were sure of that, but what is power with nothing to effect?

So,they used their power together, organizing power in a chaotic manner throught the existence that Was Not.

And there Was.

Energy, untethered, created space, time, _substance._ Organize went to work as Destroy reveled in the chaos.

Their cooperation did not stop there, however. Organize made balls of substance, so tight they began to glow and make new types of substance. Destroy changed them, so at a certain point where they could not make any more, they would explode and create heavier substance. Unfortunately, Destroy did not anticipate its power on a larger scale, and ended up with a phenomenon where the orbs of light and creation were transformed into orbs of devouring destruction and darkness.

But Organize didn't mind, and used the orbs of destruction as anchors for groups of millions of the orbs.

Organize and Destroy then began work on making colder balls of substance. Destroy was intrigued, not particularly caring that Organize was doing more than Destroy was, as between them, the first thing that might be able to be called 'love' was being created. But neither of them knew that, they only knew that Organize had many ideas for what could be, and Destroy wanted to help.

And that they wanted to work together.

So Organize took leftover substance from the glowing things, the stars, and formed balls of the stuff, letting them settle and separate, condense and cool.

One ball in particular Organize was very interested in, directing Destroy to send other orbs to it. Destroy did, sending what would eventually be called comets and asteroids to impact the molten ball.

One of them, though, was too large, and threw much substance into the nearby abyss. Destroy was concerned that he had ruined Organize's prize project.

But Organize was thrilled, and made the substance into another orb, made to go around the larger one. Somehow, Organize was able to make the same side face the larger one at all times, even if part was covered in shadow.

Content, Organize left Destroy to do other things while the orb cooled and settled. Out of curiosity, Destroy made a large rock hit one of the other cool balls of substance, far away from the special rock. It had already collected small bits of substance around it, creating rings like the other, larger balls of substance out here.

The rock Destroy threw hit the "planet", causing it to turn to one side, the rings being sideways now. Organize seemed to like it, though. Something about appreciating variety.

So, Destroy focused on another one of the balls near Organize's project, moving one of its moons nearer to it. The force holding the planet together ripped the moon apart, turning it into a more beautiful set of rings.

Organize was pleased, but now it was time to do more with the planet.

Together, they made again, like in the beginning. But, not to create existence, but to create _life_.

Structures, substances, that could make more of themselves, even making other, similar structures. They worked together on this, making things called "flowers," "trees," "algae," and "grass".

Of course, they did not use those words, but the way they communicated was more efficient, more detailed than speech could ever hope to be, and more abstract than humanity could begin to comprehend.

Destroy had an idea, and with Creation's help, made a new type of life that destroyed other life to survive. Animals began to walk, with things like "fish" and "bacteria" soon moving to more complex things that would later be called "dinosaurs," "birds" and "mammals".

As they did, an interesting thing occurred. The animals, as they were formed, often had two types, one that was in charge of making more, and one that tended to destroy more. As this occurred, the animals began to view each other in terms similar to "him" and "her," the more destructive being "him" and the more nurturing being "her."

As a side effect, Destruction began thinking of Creation as "her" and Creation viewed Destruction as "him". At the same time, they began to take shapes, Creation in that of the Sun rain, and such, Destruction as fire, lightning, and the remains of the dead.

Still, they were invisible to everything that Was. Nevertheless, it seemed their creations, who had just a little of their own power inside, had some little influence on what they were.

* * *

**I'd like to leave a short note here for people who would care.****I knew before I began writing this that it probably wouldn't be as popular as a lot of other fics. This is too wordy, too academic to resonate with a large audience. Beyond that, it's pure info-dumping disguised as a story, something that rarely leaves you on the edge of your seat.****Still, I needed to write this for myself. Philosophy and personifications of abstract concepts are something that I like to dabble in from time to time, especially how seemingly "evil" or "dark" concepts, like Illusion and Subjection, have both good and bad sides to them. At the same time, I wanted to write an explanation for the universe of the Miraculous, in the form of an origin story/myth of sorts, but in a view from a history perspective. Perhaps that was my reasoning for including an explanation of Uranus' unique orientation, as well as Saturn's rings. I almost cut them out, but I felt that it was necessary to show that Destruction tends to get a bit distracted, coming through eventually as Plagg.****So, thank you for reading this. It's a passion project more than anything else, and regardless of how popular it is or isn't, I will publish all of it, simply because it's already been written.**


	2. The Second Generation

As life was beginning to conquer the earth, and animals began to dominate, an odd phenomenon began to occur.

New...beings began to be created. Organization and Destruction were alerted to the creation, and moved to discover what was occurring.

A mother, tending to her young. After some investigation, they discovered that the mother had an ability to eat plants that were toxic to that species previously, and she had transmitted that power to her young. As they watched, an entity known as Transmission began to be formed. Strangely, it seemed to be "he," but neither Organization nor Destruction knew enough about how these things were determined to be too curious. Nevertheless, Transmission was created, in the form of an animal, a butterfly. Puzzling, until they decided the small creatures did transmit the ability to reproduce from plant to plant.

Further investigation revealed that this was not the only instance of Transmission, but it was the focusing aspect of it, apparently the final piece to form the new being, apparently an empowered entity representing that ability to change those around you, as much as Organize and Destroy represented their aspects.

The two decided to raise the young one, to teach him of his abilities and help him do whatever he decided to do.

At the same time, though, they needed a name for themselves. In their language, they called themselves the Existing, though in time they would be known as kwamis. To avoid confusion, however, we will call them kwamis throughout.

They were further interested when another kwami was created, while the first was still young. They found her where a large lizard was attacking a smaller lizard. The smaller lost, but somehow, a kwami was formed, Emotion, the embodiment and, in truth, goddess, of those strange urges the animals felt to run from others, or to mourn the dead.

Another was soon formed, in a similar circumstance where a mother was protecting her young. Thus Protection was formed. Another from small creatures hiding behind plants, leading to the creation of Illusion. The last was formed by large creatures using force to prevent others of its kind from intruding, giving way to Subjection.

By this point, Transmission had begun to use his powers to widespread effect, causing creatures to change over time more than they were before. Creatures became more and more diverse, and as Emotion, Illusion, and Protection became more skilled, they put their own influences on the creatures.

Protection began with thickened skin, bony plates, other things that could defend, but moved on to spikes and other weapons to defend.

Illusion began her influence, affecting animals to disguise themselves, first to make both predator and prey appear to blend with the environment, then to make animals appear larger, or something different from before.

Illusion and Protection worked together for a time, creating small, colorful bugs and fish, that mimicked the appearance of other creatures, distracting predators or scaring them.

Subjection worked on large and small animals, causing some to gather under the banner of the strongest member, while some tiny creatures became dependent on one member of the society for life and responsibility. She also created toxins, allowing some to destroy their prey with a single bite, while others dissuaded potential predators from attack with foul odors or toxic skin. Illusion saw these toxins, and with the help of Protection, began changing some creatures to resemble the toxic ones, so the danger of one would protect the other.

Emotion was content, however, to influence the way members of a species interacted, giving bright colors or special activities to assist in replication of the species. Her favorite, though, were birds where the male had a tale that grew to over three times his size, covered in dazzling spots and colors. All for the sake of attracting a female.

And so it went, and likely would have gone forever, had Destruction not gotten bored.

* * *

**I hope my headcanon for what kwamis are came through here. If not, here it is in a simpler form.****Kwami are abstract creatures given physical appearance, with power to enact their "aspect" as it were. Animals were created by the kwamis, and had some measure of intelligence. Through some mechanism that I never figured out, nor do I care to determine, if a large number of beings develop a concept not covered adequately by existing kwamis, a new one is formed.****Also, I have no idea whether the Miraculous in the series were the only ones ever made, but I'm pretending that they are. It makes this all easier.**


	3. The Third Generation

Destruction was bored. And that was never good.

He and Organization--who had recently been calling herself Creation, but nobody minded--hadn't been around each other a lot. After all, things hadn't changed much for a while, not in a big way, anyway. And those changes were mostly done by the other kwamis, combining their power and influence to make strange, new things come about. Still, though, life Was, and had been for a while. His power only made the predators more aggressive, while Creation's seemed to make them more curious. So, for the most part, they left the animals alone.

Destruction liked when things were changing. Some things were destroyed, others were created, and so they worked together to make something new. But now, the system that existed was too delicate to disrupt too much. Too many predators, the prey animals would die off, and the predators would starve. Too many plants, the prey would grow in numbers too fast, and they would soon overeat the abundance, causing famine. Left alone, things seemed to balance, but they were always concerned about how much was too far.

Even when new kwamis were born, they worked to teach them what they could do, and the danger in destroying the balance.

But...maybe, the balance _should_ be disrupted sometimes. After all, he figured, choosing a good spot, if they never did anything or made anything new, what was the point of them existing?

So, he let a little bit of his power out into the ground around him. Not enough to destroy a star, not even enough to destroy the moon. Just enough, he thought, to make things change, to the point that he and Creation could do something _new._

Unfortunately, the power was more than he expected. An explosion of fire and sound rocked the planet, releasing dust and ash that covered the planet, cooling it to the point that most of the largest creatures died from the cold. Winters became longer, summers shorter, and it became what was known as an Ice Age. As a side effect, the surface of the planet cracked, and the pieces began drifting away from that spot, colliding, sliding, sinking, rising and causing mayhem on the surface.

And Creation was as close to furious as humans have words for.

Destruction shrank as Creation showed him what he had done, the creatures he had destroyed, and the work done by their children that had been forever lost.

Destruction then presented his point, that little had been changing, and the two had not made anything new for a while. Their children, he protested, had learned from their early experiments, and could now make more interesting and effective beings.

Creation agreed to consider his reasoning, while their children rebuilt the world. Their abilities, she reasoned, were too strong and unrefined to do much beyond disrupting the balance further.

Destruction decided to leave his efforts on a large island, separated from the rest of the world by vast oceans, and too warm in the winter months to form ice bridges that would let the creatures escape. Even still, he didn't go overboard, just making everything a bit more dangerous, a bit more aggressive, than it was before. Subjection's venom did help, but he improved it somewhat.

What was considered, debated, rejected, and thought of by Creation during the time of rebuilding is impossible to say. In the end, she was an abstract creature who assisted in creating a physical existence. Humanity might, in several thousand years, be able to understand the nature of her existence, but never what problems she ponderered.

In short, though, she agreed with Destruction, and proposed a way for things to keep changing, perhaps forever.

Together, the powers of Creation and Destruction could form any thing fathomable, and many things impossible for humans to comprehend. The things they made changed, but not very quickly, although their children accelerated the process. What if, she proposed, they created a form of life with some of all their powers? One meant, above all else, to change themselves and the world around them.

The kwamis discussed the concept: A being with equal ability for creation and destruction, with ability for protection, subjection, illusion, who would be able to both transmit abilities and qualities, as well as feel, detect, and even change emotion in themselves and others.

In the end, the kwamis agreed, and decided on a shape. A thousand different ones were considered, a thousand rejected, until they settled on one capable of enough precision and intelligence, that they would be able to use all the abilities they were given, while also being smart enough to change what Was.

And so, the being was made, and humanity was born. Humanity began immediately to create protections, as the elements were harsh, but in time manifested all the abilities bestowed on them. Creation, in the formation of clothing and homes. Destruction, in their mastery of fire. Protection, in the purpose of their structures, as well as weapons to defend and defeat those larger and stronger than they. Illusion, hiding their true intentions from even each other, in order to feel part of the whole. Subjection, allowing a single man to lead them, though each could survive alone. Transmission, in teaching those younger the skills they developed, and allowing the freedom to improve them. And Emotion, in sensing another's pain and seeking to help.

There was, however, a cost, which the kwamis knew beforehand. The kwamis would be bound to humanity and the planet they were on. They could not change beings as they did before, only influence their minds. As a result, some humans focused more on creation, others, destruction, and so on.

But then, a strange thing happened as the humans learned. They began to think of things in ways as never before. They thought of tomorrow and yesterday, as well as today. They began to make settlements far from each other, and the concept of travelling was created. And so on. Just had been done when animals began to walk the earth, the beings that could think began to think of concepts never before considered.

As such, new kwamis began to be created. The concept of yesterday and tomorrow was realized in Time, who had the ability to perceive all that was or would be. With their inherent curiosity, humans began to travel back and forth across great distances, giving birth to Voyage. Nature was formed from the human's perspective of the storm, wind, and sea being untamable, untouchable, eventually being equal to a personality itself.

Redemption came about from humanity occasional stumbles, and starting anew as if old failures were no more. Disruption came about from humanity's occasional influence in the works of others. Legion was born from the conflicts against larger creatures, the humans realizing that a number of small foes could overpower a large one.

Unfortunately, as the annals of humanity can attest, while humans were given the ability to create and destroy, it would seem slightly more of Destruction's power went into their birth than Creation's did, causing an inbalance in the two that became apparent over time.

* * *

**When I began writing this starting from the Big Bang, I knew that I had to explain how Plagg/Destruction killed the dinosaurs. I don't think that it's unreasonable to believe that an accidentally very strong Cataclysm would have similar effects to an asteroid. I could have made him chuck an asteroid, but that wouldn't do much for the argument in Style Queen that Plagg shouldn't use his power unaided.****As for the Third Generation kwamis listed, I didn't feel comfortable diverting from canon regarding the revealed abilities of Miraculous. Some of them are less obvious, so I'd like to point out that Nature is meant to be the Dragon, Redemption the Cobra (Second Chance seems more like an ability of redemption than anything else), Disruption the Monkey, and Legion the Mouse.**


	4. The Corruption of Man

While, for a time, there was peace, those favoring destruction usually being outnumbered by those who favored one of the others, the balance eventually shifted in the direction of Destruction.

Not that Destruction himself desired it, he wanted the humans to survive after all. It simply was that he let more of his power through in the formation process on accident.

However, this led to the...corruption of the abilities of what was known as the First and Second generation of kwamis, those involved directly with the creation of humanity, whose powers were as much a part of humanity as their hearts or minds.

So, the First and Second generations' powers were corrupted in the hearts of many men. Creation corrupted led men to Cunning, the art of going around the established structure to form webs of people and resources at your disposal. Destruction led to Annihilation, the desire to destroy for the sake of destruction, instead of a way to bring about change. Fortunately for the sake of all, few people ever follow Annihilation, and those who do are rarely followed. Unfortunately, those who do often choose to destroy themselves.

Illusion was twisted to become Deception, the art of hiding a dagger with a smile, of creating masks for the purpose of accomplishing one's goals. One may fail to see the distinction between the two, but Illusion is defined as being necessary and entered to with care, while Deception is a means to an end, a tool of one's own benefit at the cost of others.

Subjection became Tyranny, subjecting others to your will regardless of whether it would be better for them one way or another. Of doing what you desire regardless of the consequences it brings, instead of controlling minimally, bringing true subjection only when necessary.

Protection became Isolation, the idea that the only way to truly defend against any attack is to keep everything, whether attacking or helping, away.

Emotion became Manipulation, using that which others care for as motivation for them to do what you desire.

Transmission became Abuse, as those with anger and pain gave it to others, hurting and causing pain as they had.

The kwamis discussed how to resolve the problem, as no one desired humanity to be destroyed. They did not know what would become of their new brethren, nor whether their power would return. In the end, Creation declared that by humanity came the problem, and by humanity would come the solution.

So, they chose a man who was fully balanced, who saw the virtues of all the attributes, and had some mastery of the abilities given him that most humans never obtain. Using the influence they had, the kwamis brought him to awareness of the troubles of humanity, and what could be done to solve them.


	5. The Story Until Now

The man was skilled, and crafty, and wise. The kwamis chose well, for he came up with a solution that would serve to benefit all, though it would come at a price. A price, granted, the kwamis agreed to pay.

First, he divined the true Names of the kwamis, something that had never been attempted, and would have been met with failure had the kwamis not been aware of and approved of his plans.

Using those names, and what they represented, he determined creatures that, in his culture, best represented their respective qualities. It happened to be that good luck was the best explanation of Organization, and bad luck the best explanation of Destruction, thus the ladybug and black cat were associated with those qualities. So on and so forth, the kwamis were given animals.

Using these animals, the man, who some might call the Mage, created special pieces of jewelry designed to bind the kwamis to them. This would restrict their powers further, but would allow them to interact with humans face to face. They would be bound to whomever wore the jewelry, though, as they were forced to do anything commanded by their true Names.

Nevertheless, it would be for the best. The humans would be able bond with the kwamis, getting a small fraction of their power to use as a human, as well as increasing their physical abilities durability. In addition, the Mage let it be so that the bonding would also result in a change of appearance, determined by the mind of the user, so as to protect them from those who would seek to harm them, and allowing the chosen champions of humanity to live whatever lives they desired.

To give them assistance, the Mage equipped each Miraculous--for they would indeed bring about miracles--with a tool, in order to help the champions with whatever must be done. He disliked the thought that it might require bloodshed, but realized the very likely possibility, so he designed the tools in such a way that they could defend as well as attack. This, too, was largely left for the minds of the user to determine, for though the shape would be constant, the equipment it provided would be limited primarily by what the user thought it might be able to produce.

As a final note, he created a Box, designed to hold the Miraculous, and bonded to a Guardian. The Guardian's duty would be to assess the threats to humanity, decide whether Miraculous were needed at the time, and, if so, determine who would recieve them. The Box also shaped itself to the preferences and expectations of the Guardian, changing to represent the personality of the new Guardian.

The Guardian's greatest duty, however, would be to forget. Should any Miraculous be left outside the Box at the time the Guardian changed from one to another, the memories of the Guardian would be almost completely erased, all knowledge of the Miraculous erased entirely, so that the defenders of humanity would be protected from being revealed by their enemies.

After all was prepared, the Mage summoned the kwamis, and bound them to the jewelery. They became able to manifest in the sight of humans, and make small changes in the world like they were. Their appearance also changed permanently, becoming human-like in appearance, but also gaining many attributes of their token animal, appearing as if someone had tried turning the animal into a human. They also gained an affinity for certain human foods, using this to transmit more of their near-infinite power into physical form.

The Mage began to distribute the Miraculous appropriately, and balance was restored.

In the centuries that followed, a society was created with the intention of protecting the Miraculous. They discovered certain potions that, when given to the kwamis, temporarily granted the users the ability to travel and fight in previously inhospitable environments.

Unfortunately, a great power was discovered. The Black Cat and Ladybug kwamis still had the ability to change the world, and, if both Miraculous were used by the same person, the change could take place with almost all the original power of the Kwamis, the only limit being that it could not kill anyone, nor bring back a person who was truly dead.

This, though, led to problems. For everything humanity does must be balanced, with good being opposed by bad, light for dark, and so on. Thus, for every change they brought, the humans also brought another change, equal in magnitude and opposite in effect to that which was changed. A stranger could live, but another would die. A storm could be stopped in one place, but a storm of equal magnitude would form elsewhere. A starving town could be given a bountiful harvest, but another town's crops would wither and die.

So it was warned that whoever sought to use these together, would meet with undesirable consequences. Humanity's arrogance prevailed, though, and civilizations were scattered to repay the removal of an army, nations starved to feed another, and so on, until only the most foolish and desperate turned to that ability to help.

And thus the centuries passed, with the Miraculous maintaining the balance of creation and destruction, until the time that Transmission, now known as Nooroo, was equipped by one with dark intentions, to seek the revival of one who's energy had been drained through damage done to Emotion, now known as Duusuu.

The Miraculous were distributed, Creation, or Tikki, to one whose thoughts were in a thousand places, and whose inclination to create and organize was almost unmatched. Destruction, or Plagg, was given to the most unique holder of destruction ever encountered. The holders must be familiar with what they wield, and only he had encountered Cunning, Deception, Tyranny, Manipulation, Isolation, Annihilation, and Abuse, without letting himself be corrupted or destroyed himself. As one who understood the darkest side of Destruction, and had not been conquered by it, he was well equipped to use it to fight those who didn't. Even if he was occasionally blind by those who favored Destruction, not fully realizing the dangers of Tyranny and Deception.

Over time, the Ladybug did obtain allies, a user of Illusion whose life was devoted to spreading truth, a user of Protection who sought to defend his friends from impossible odds multiple times, and, surprisingly, a young wielder of Tyranny, as Ladybug tried to show her another way.

Others came, though. A young woman who understood both action and power was given Nature, now called Longg. A young man who sought to give the young Ladybug a second chance at happiness found himself suited for Redemption. A woman who was raised to appreciate the past, but also anticipate the future, was given custody of Time. A young man who understood the variables and problems of instantaneous transport was given that power. An impulsive but caring young man found himself the steward of Disruption.

And, of course, more came afterwards. However, those stories have not yet been told. It should be said, though, that those who focus on creation, on organization, often find themselves among those touched by destruction.

For who else could help change the damage of destruction into something else?

* * *

**I hoped that you enjoyed this fic, wordy though it is.****For those wondering about my saying Adrien encountered all kinds of Destruction, I'd remind you about his father. His father's cunning almost certainly started before his mother 'disappeared', and the deception began almost immediately. The control imposed on him, as well as his association with Chloe, would effectually be tyranny. It's self-evident how he was isolated, and he's almost certainly been the subject of manipulation a time or two or twenty. All of this, especially the fact that it probably intensified after Adrien's mother disappeared, definitely qualifies as abuse on some level or another.****As far as annihilation, I'd say it's not unreasonable to assume that at some point before Adrien decided to go to school, he had some suicidal thoughts. I'm not claiming that it went any further than that, but I think anybody in that situation would have a little of that at least.**


End file.
